Added 500 words to my story this morning, 500 words to go. Its fitting together nicely. Then I'll polish it for a few days, submit, and wait to see what I get. It oughta finish up at 3500 words, or a full page.

The story is done, bass-ackwards, and fits together well. Prolly post it to LW.

Next up is a tale I call BLACKBIRD IN A GELDED CAGE. A black woman marries a military retiree who is soon runover, crippled, and brain damaged. He spends his days coloring and watching the cartoon network. She has lovers but he doesn't care.

THE GUTTER AND THE GRAVE by Ed McBain is my 2nd attempt at his writing.

The first effort was too PC for me. It wallowed in nigger loving.

The above book flows the opposite way. Get this: A Bowery Bum, and former detective, is lured from his alley refuge to find the killer of an old friend. Our bum stinks, hasn't had a bath in forever, wears rags, etc. And connects with a young beauty he disgusts, lets her know he wants some gash from her and intends to stalk her till she puts out....and she's....flattered. He makes it clear he aint bathing, or brushing his teeth, or nuthin...and she says, OK. NEXT

I recently discovered that broccoli leaves are edible, I had been removing the leaves and cooking them, thinking they were collards (collards was what I planted!), then they sprouted heads! Oprah's website says theyre ok to eat and loaded with Vitamin A (90% v 3% in the floret). The taste is a mite stronger than the collard but okay with a liberal dose of pepper sauce.

So I'm harvesting broccoli and spinach right now, and planting Vidalia onions and russet potatoes. The blueberry bushes are loaded with blooms, so maybe I'll get a decent amount of fruit in April. My Iceberg and Romaine lettuce seeds sprouted. And I bought a bag of raw peanuts to plant in April. Roasted peanuts are expensive, yet cheap to grow and easy to roast.

You know, I've never thought of planting peanuts. Mind you, I don't like them very much. Peanut butter is OK from time to time, but that's about it. But I love broccoli. I shall have to stop throwing away the leaves. Thanks, JBJ.

__________________‘Writing is the ultimate decision-making experience. Every paragraph, every sentence, every word, is a decision.’ – Michael Bremer

You know, I've never thought of planting peanuts. Mind you, I don't like them very much. Peanut butter is OK from time to time, but that's about it. But I love broccoli. I shall have to stop throwing away the leaves. Thanks, JBJ.

I'm gonna try mixing broccoli, collards, and turnips together, to see what I get.

My latest story posted at LW, and the response is about what I expected. None of the characters are sympathetic, and the tone of the tale is pretty unPC. Its not as good as David Goodis' dismal fare but its on the right path. There are no feelings, just appetites and needs....like real life. And that's where I wanna go NOT chase LIT fashion.

You know, I've never thought of planting peanuts. Mind you, I don't like them very much. Peanut butter is OK from time to time, but that's about it. But I love broccoli. I shall have to stop throwing away the leaves. Thanks, JBJ.

I love peanuts but theyre expensive for what they are. Plus they thrive in our killer summers. I grew cotton 2 years ago, its beautiful and thrives but is kinda useless.

The new story is recovering after dropping to the bottom of the pool earlier. I didn't expect it to win many friends, cuz of the gay jabs and female treachery.

Next up is an LW tale built around a huge white guy with a stable of crack whores in the ghetto. The bruthas and the organization aren't happy about it. Once again I begin at the end. I call it THE RELUCTANT PIMP. He wants to run a flop house NOT a whore house.

Halfway thru DARK PASSAGE by David Goodis, much of it is torture tho its reputed to be his best, it was made in to a movie starring Bogart & Bacall, and it was the inspiration for THE FUGITIVE tv show and movie. My problem with it is how Goodis obsesses where he oughta get on the stick and go. Its maddening.

You know the story so I'm not giving anything away. Innocent guy goes to prison for murdering his wife. But the guy, named Parry in the book, is a piece of damaged goods, and oughta be hanged for his neuroses alone. I'd pull the lethal lever to shut him up.

I'm at the place where it dawns on Parry that maybe his wife's death wasn't an accident. Maybe it was murder. From what Goodis says of the wife Parry oughta stalk the killer to shake his hand.

So far...womens vital stats were measured different from today, so there's no direct correlation tween 1925 and now. Add 2 inches if you order a Flapper outfit or it will be too small. I mean, 36" didn't change, 24" didn't change, but sewers added to the real measurements back then.

Women started shaving armpits in 1915 after Max Sennett featured smooth armpits in a movie. He made the gals shave cuz he thought armpit hair was gross.

Women started shaving their legs about 1924 when Rayon came out. Victorian fashions went away after 1918, hems went up, and rayon came along, exposing legs in 1924. Women concealed leg hair with powder at first.

Next up is 20s American dialect. Prolly not much GROOVY or 10-4 GOOD BUDDY back then. So what did they say? It wasn't WTF or LOL.

The new story is moving along to my satisfaction though its ending changed to something I didn't expect. That is, I planned to write a story of hard crime, and its now a vampire tale...a different sort of vampire tale.

It's not DRACULA. DRACULA is from a time when vampire cults needed concealment by the dark. But its not necessary, according to the books I own on the subject. Many vampires work the day shift. My effort is about the acquisition of a harsh addiction with no cure. It wont kill you, it wont even let you die.

Worked out the vampire-hard crime tale in my head. Thinking about changing the title to WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE NOW! Its a modern mix of Cinderella and Portrait of Dorian Gray and Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Say, ONE full LIT page.